Baba Farid University opens MBBS, BDS admissions to NIOS Biology students

Aimed at widening access to medical education, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, on Tuesday announced that students who have passed Biology as an additional subject through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) will be eligible for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in Punjab.

Dr Rajeev Sood, vice chancellor of BFUHS, said that candidates who have studied Biology through NIOS—even as an additional subject—are fully eligible to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the national-level entrance test for MBBS and BDS courses across India.

This decision ends confusion for many students who initially pursued non-medical subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) in Class XII but later opted to add Biology through open schooling. Confusion had arisen following a discrepancy between the NEET-UG 2025 bulletin issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the NMC’s regulations.

Sood said that the students from NIOS, state open schools, or private candidates are eligible for NEET-UG 2025 under the provisions of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER) 2023. Additional subjects like Biology can be studied through NIOS, provided the course is undertaken at an authorised institution, he said.

The decision is expected to particularly benefit students who seek a second chance at entering the medical profession without repeating their entire school education. It also brings Punjab’s admission policies in line with national standards.